Manchester City slumped to a second defeat in three Premier League games to hand Liverpool an early Christmas present in the title race as Crystal Palace shocked the Etihad with a 3-2 win on Saturday.
And City failed to cut the gap as they dropped points at home for the first time this season despite going ahead through Ilkay Gundogan’s header.
Jeffrey Schlupp levelled for Palace against the run of play just after the half-hour mark and two minutes later Andros Townsend thumped a stunning volley into the top corner from well outside the area.
Pep Guardiola summoned Sergio Aguero from the bench soon after the break, but City had a mountain to climb when Kyle Walker chopped down Max Meyer and Luka Milivojevic dispatched the resulting penalty.
Kevin De Bruyne was also thrown on to try and turn the game around and his intended cross that flew in off the post brought City back into the game five minutes from time.
But despite incessant pressure, the champions could not find an equalizer to hand Liverpool a huge boost ahead of their trip to City on January 3.
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